I cannot believe this band is trying to get money from the makers of a video game. You have to be kidding me. The Romantics fifteen minutes has come and gone. Why can't you be happy that you actually have you music living on in a format that wasn't even thought about in your heyday.

I am not sure if your catalog is still available, however, this game should have somehow gotten some sales for you in some fashion. Stop living in the past by thinking you are still some relavent part of the music industry.

The Romantics Sue Over Guitar Hero Detroit rock band The Romantics have filed a federal lawsuit against Guitar Hero publisher Activision, claiming that the game’s cover version of 1980 hit “What I Like About You” infringes on the group’s rights.

According to an Associated Press report the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Detroit, seeking unspecified damages.

The lawsuit admits that Activision did obtain the proper permissions for using the song in the game - but claims that the cover version was too close to the original recording, thereby infringing on the group’s rights to its own likeness.

The song appears in standalone expansion pack Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the ‘80s, originally released in North America for PlayStation 2 in July 2007. The band’s attorneys have indicated that they are seeking an injunction that would force the game to be withdrawn from sale.

Although around half of the songs in the newly released Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock feature recordings by the original artists, in previous Guitar Hero games the majority of songs were cover versions.

YOU GUYS SUCK BALLS, I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF YOU UNTIL I SAW THAT YOU ARE GETTING GUITAR HERO ROCK THE 80S PULLED OFF THE SHELF BECAUSE YOU GUYS THINK YOU ARE SPECIAL OR SOMETHING --- IT WOULD PROBABLY HELP WITH EXPOSURE OF YOUR SONG RETARDS, KIDS DONT LISTEN TO YOUR GRANDPA SHIT ANYMORE UNLESS ITS IN A GAME - EVERYONE HATES YOU NOW AND I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT CAUSE EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT IT

Solodka, don't you see what is really going on here? We have a few30 year old guys who still live with their moms, have part time jobs at Burger King, and play video games the rest of the time in their bedroom. They love guitar hero and are in a panic that they might not get to play it for a while. They will have to settle for playing Halo 3 for countless hours now until they have to go back in a few days and do their 4 hour shift flippin' burgers. Would you like fries with that?

"You crashed your car through the front door/I pulled you from the wreckage/You told me that you missed me/But you meant with the grill and hood."

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rockford_boy

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I Love YaBB 2!

Posts: 139

Re: Give Me A Break! Reply #11 - Nov 23rd, 2007 at 10:49pm

Being a musician that had a whole complete LP ripped off by a former band mate in the 80's, I totally agree with the legal action. The music industry has been ran by Attorneys and Accountants for decades. People that never wrote, recorded, or sweated an ounce of anything in making music. The bands always get the shaft. Take the recent Cheap Trick and Allman Brothers suit against CBS. In this case CBS is knowingly and willingly selling on-line downloads at a huge profit and has NO DOWNLOAD royalty setup for these two bands. Normally, downloads pay near 75% to each artists, these two group are being paid LP fees of up to 4 cents per recording.

Complain and attack all you want, the industry is corrupt and deserves a spanking from time to time. You don't own what you didn't create and you cannon use "likeness" with out permission. Tribute bands in the UK must pay monies to the bands they copy, and that is what Guitar Hero is doing.

I think that this is probably one of the most "right on" statements that has been said about this. It is funny how everyone thinks this is such a sue happy band. I think that we all should stand up for our rights when our likenesses are used for something that we (for the sake of arguments) have not been compensated for or perhaps didn't even know about until now. Who knows if The Romantics gave permission after all, if it was theirs to give, but everyone is talking as if they know it for sure. Give someone the benefit of the doubt.

Just like sports figures in the 70's and 80's who don't make anything near as much as players do today, someone always gets the shaft. Read about class action lawsuits regarding bands from that era who didn't have a clue about Itunes because at the time, Itunes didn't exist. But bands now can negotiate it into their contract regarding percentages of compensation due to them from the monetary gain of the internet. With that being said, look at the money that all bands today are losing from the internet with downloads. Who buys records anymore? We hardly buy CD's, we use MP3's, share music, etc. I can go on about this, but I just thought someone needs to give these guys and other bands a break. Why is it now with the latest release of Guitar Hero they are using more of the original music than they did in the previous releases?

Hi everyone,Just wanted to say a quick hello since I am new to this forum Basically, I am here for a couple of reasons. First of all, I grew up in the 80's and know who the Romantics are and also know word for word the song" What I like about you". Secondly, I noticed that since the Guitar Hero controversy that the Romantics have made a sudden "come back".

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the entire situation. First of all, pissing off millions I would think would not be good for your careers. Guitar Hero is a kids, teenagers, young adults and even adults my age still have the secret dream of one day being a rock star so therefore do not groan and moan when a young kid or teenager challenges his or her parent to a Guitar Hero showdown. It is all for fun. I had about 15 kids and young adults playing it in my gameroom during the Thanksgiving as a matter of fact. The game is very popular as I am sure you know. So, in order to not cause your band negative media remarks is there anyway that you can come to an agreement with the maker of the game? I do believe that the song is yours and since it has been included in the game, you guys should be compensated fairly. I do believe that threatening to have the game pulled, especially during the Christmas holidays is not creating a positive image for your band. Actually, my 11 yr old sons were groaning about the Romantics this morning and saying how the band was terrible and they didnt know why anyone cares what an old 80's band says and the band itself is causing Guitar Hero to be pulled from shelves. First of all, I explained to them that if they are playing Guitar Hero then they are listening and learning to play MANY 80's songs and the Romantics are one of the bands from the 80's.

Basically, the young kids and young adults will believe whatever they read in the media, don't give the media anymore reason to drag your band or reputations down.

Good Luck and I wish you all the best of luck. I see this as a no win situation and I do honestly think it stinks on your behalf but if you win the money, make sure it will be plenty because if that game is pulled due to this lawsuit, the Romantics new name will be MUD.

Are they asking for the old items to be returned? Nope, just "fair" compensation for being ripped-off. So, if you and your "so-called" teenage kids are playing this tune then you have nothing to worry about. The song in question was recently covered by Lilix, with proper/just payments, so it isn't an unknown or mystery song by a mystery band. Such as the case was with the blatant rip-off by Avril of the Rubinoo's tune. It's the same chours, gender changed, word for word note for note at a faster tempo.

What you see playing out here is another of a long line of rip-offs by Sony to the cost of the people that helped make the company millions upon millions. Somebody has to be the bad guy/girl and put an end to the "weasel" industry. I will buy more Romantics items because of this, and don't think they will ever be effected by the young, self-centered, off spring of the Baby Boomer generation. They mostly "STEAL" music from downloading sites.